Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Modern culture
Modern Fijian culture
preserves aspects of traditional Fijian and Indian life whilst being
strongly influenced by globalization. Brought up with the Internet and satellite TV, young
Fijians, both ethnic Fijian and Fiji-Indian, tend to mimic the trends in modern music and fash-
ion of the West, especially Australia and New Zealand. In addition, interaction with tourists
has led some Fijians to question their strictly religious and hierarchical culture.
Music
A few
Fijian musicians
have established themselves over the past two decades, including
female singer Laisa Vulakoro, who blends Fijian folk with R&B in a style of music known
locally as
vude
; and Rotuman/Irish Daniel Rae Costello, who has released over thirty albums
and created a fusion style of calypso, latin and reggae known as “Aqualypso”. The most suc-
cessful Fijian band of recent years are
Rosiloa
(formerly Black Rose), who started out per-
forming covers at tourist resorts in Nadi and now sell out gigs across the South Pacific. Their
biggest hit,
Raude
, a blend of traditional meke music mixed with high-tempo dance beats,
can be heard on their debut album
Voices of Nature
(2000); they have released a couple of
albums since. The current music trend in Fiji is
hip-hop
, gentler than the US urban version
and with a definite reggae influence, but the soundtrack blasting from buses and cars tends
towards cheesy
pop
.
Film
Fiji's first and most celebrated native
film
,
The Land Has Eyes
, premiered at the Sundance
Film Festival in 2004. Directed by Vilsoni Hereniko and filmed mostly on Rotuma, the film
is a fabulous low-budget depiction of the islanders' conflicting attitudes to change. Focusing
on the struggle of a young Rotuman girl caught between two worlds - the traditional life on
Rotuma and a possible scholarship to the Fijian mainland - the film shares parallels with the
internationally successful Maori film
Whale Rider
. Fiji has also proved a popular location
for
Hollywood films
including
Blue Lagoon
(1979),
Return to the Blue Lagoon
(1991
)
and
Castaway
(2001), as well as the forgettable sequel to snake horror
Anaconda
(2004) and the
suspense thriller
Boot Camp
(2008).
Art and craft
Contemporary Fijian
art and craft
reflects tradition, with paintings made upon
tapa
cloth
and the wooden designs of war clubs, priest dishes and
tanoa
bowls providing inspiration.
You can view displays and sometimes performing arts at the Oceania Centre for Arts and
Culture ( 323 1000), part of the University of the South Pacific in Suva.
Sport
For a tiny nation, Fiji has had a significant impact in the world of
sport
.
Rugby Union
is a
particular obsession and fills the back (and often front) pages of all the daily newspapers. The
